When times get tough, the tough get going to pawn shops. That's the word from McPike's Pawn shop owner Lori McPike. She's been in the pawn business 22 years. Lately, she's seen a 50 percent increase in the numbers of people coming in off the street with items to sell for cash. And some of the most popular these days are DVDs and video games.
McPike said, "DVDs are a very tangible item people have around the home that they don't really need and sometimes when they get short on cash they grab things they don't need to live."
There's a big buyers market for these DVDs. McPike says she sells 100-150 DVDS like these every day to customers coming in to shop.
Just last week, all eleven seasons of the hit series "Cheers" came through the door at McPike's Pawn Shop and sold quickly thereafter.
McPike said, "It's cheaper than buying brand-new at the store."
Other things people tend to bring in these days - broken and used gold jewelry because of the high prices for the precious metal. Many folks also are pawning and purchasing tools. these days. McPike says it's all about finding ways to deal in these tight times.
McPike said, "Because of the way the economy has been the last year and a half, people are looking around the house saying, I don't really need these items. We get a lot of phone calls with people saying, "Do you pay cash for this?"
And that means business is good here at a time when folks are looking for quick cash and cheaper prices to boot.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA